The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 2 — page 68: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

250 “Viva la fazendadrina! ’’—*“ the Mrs. Manager!” their crude Portuguese meant as plainly as anything. A moment later the girl herself gave a possible color to their notion. The ring that Haggins had placed on her finger but a week before was a wonderful thing, picked up in some place of vast ancient lore and weird art in priceless jewelry. As she stooped, with face burning at the sound of the peons’ newest shout, it acci- dentally scratched the hand of her fiancé when she began the chafing that should help to bring him back to consciousness. Silently she removed the gorgeous bau- ble. Silently she pressed it as far as it would go over the first knuckle of the lit- tle finger of the unconscious man’s left hand. Then she began the first of those acts of mercy and aid to the injured which would stop only when she and the new doctor and the new manager had all fallen exhausted a dozen times, but had got up and gone on until the last injured man’s wounds were attended—which was almost at the dawn of the following day. CHAPTER XIX, THE GOVERNMENT ACTS. Bet Phillips did not yet press his suit for the girl’s hand. He waited until the doubt of the success of his method was gone, uftil the burned shops had been rebuilt, the machinery repaired, the works settled into operation again at a rate far beyond the best Haggins had ever got from the men. And then, when he thought the time had come, a new difficulty threatened to end not merely his chances to make Miss Evelyn Reade the queen of his jungle do- main, but the domain itself. Haggins, restored nearly to health again, but rejected of the peons, refused by the girl who had promised once but learned better, left the place in disgust. “You'll find out where you end up with all this refined flubdub,” he pro- THE ARGOSY. claimed. ‘“ They'll get tired of this en- thusiasm stuff, tired of loving a man who © insists that they keep on doing the thing they hate worst, which is work. Then you'll see how this mission- Sunday-schoo! method will hold them.” “fT wonder,” Phillips turned to Evelyn as he heard this parting shot. There were men already in the new chain-gang to bear out the prophecy. He was far from sure. “ Haggins is a wonderful man, and no inexperienced fool in this sort of thing,” he went on. “I’m still willing to admit that he was a splendid disciplinarian.” The girl eyed the company steamer across the gang-plank of which Haggins had just disappeared after his warning. ‘“[’m afraid I can’t help losing sight of his ability as a disciplinarian in the thought of what an awful husband he would have made,’ she confessed. Two weeks later the blow fell. Hag- gins had sent in his resignation by the previous steamer a month before. He had not been above blaming Phillips for the fact that he was compelled to resign. Now, on reaching Manaos, he tele- graphed a report to the Brazilian depart- ment heads that started the military as well as the judicial officials scurrying up the river for an investigation. Nearly thirty men killed, among them a favorably known young physician; nearly fifty more or less wounded in fight- ing about the works; buildings burned; a completely unauthorized system of prison labor in full swing. Haggins himself at- tacked in almost mortal combat, resign- ing because he was practically driven out —it was little wonder that they arrested Phillips immediately upon arriving, and then went on to do their investigating. On the third day Phillips paced the cabin of the government’s launch, which was the extent of liberty allowed him. For three days his head sunk steadily. Two months ago he would have been ready to choose a fair-length prison term as an excuse for giving up the job. Now he didn’t want to give it up. COmicooolkX (C@